The development of technology has allowed any person with Internet access to participate in online gambling or games hosted on different platforms.
The online casino gaming has experienced unstoppable growth in recent years, which is driven by global sporting events such as the recent World Cup Russia 2018 and marketing strategies developed by online gaming operators (TV ads, press, banners in search engines, promotions, etc.).
According to the Statista, the global market of online games have a value of more than 35 thousand 800 million dollars and is dominated mainly by more than fifty web pages. In 2017, the growth of the industry was 10.5 percent with respect to the previous year and by the end of 2018, positive growth of 11 percent is projected.
The online game is divided into different categories or modalities such as casino & slots, poker, bingo, lottery, and sports betting, the latter being the one that has increased the most in demand.
What games of chance do users prefer?
Poker, roulette, bingo, contests, and slots are among the online games that users dedicate the most time and money to. Some of them are combined with social games and others offer even rewards.
Thanks to new technologies, online games are more dynamic and can offer the user a sufficiently realistic virtual experience through the inclusion of elements characteristic of a traditional physical casino (for example, the noise when spinning the roulette wheel, the sound of the bell when the symbols line up in the slots, etc.).
Digital trends
A trend that could further accelerate the growth of online games is the use of mobile devices. In fact, in 2017 analysts pointed out that both smartphones and tablets would represent around 20 percent of online gambling revenues at the end of that year and by 2020 the figure would increase to more than 50 percent.
Important casinos are beginning to consider mobile technology as an ideal channel to reach more audiences and offer their customers coupons, discounts, promotional codes, direct purchases or other strategies that generates loyalty.
Another trend that we must not lose sight of is digital currencies. While online slots lead to the substitution of cash for electronic money, in some years it may be replaced by bitcoins.
On regulation …
The growing popularity of online casinos and what they represent in taxes has led to more and more countries working on the regulation of this type of activity online, in order to avoid the “informal market” and provide users with a sure way to practice this hobby.
The leading region in terms of regulation and legalization of iGaming is Europe, where several members of the EU have already implemented their own regulations and laws regarding the provision of this type of service.
In the case of Latin America, Mexico and Colombia are the first countries that have acted to have a regulatory framework that controls this online activity. However, there is still a long way to go.
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